Geasa - Speed Gaming

This Saturday we're going over to Hammercon which is a great time in Hamilton. Seriously, if you're in the GTA I can't recommend that you go there enough. Hell, it's worth a day trip from Buffalo.

I'm going to be running two events there, the first being a game of Geasa first thing in the morning. That might be a little hard for some people, but thankfully it doesn't require any prep on my part. That's going to be a full game which means that character creation is part of the game.

The problem I'm going to deal with is the fact that there is an event called Speed Gaming. This event basically gives me 15 minutes in which I can try to make people interested in the game. Give them a feel for how it works. My big problem is that the game has two big features, the part where you build your characters and the part where you tell the story. Both of these features are great by themselves and when they're combined they produce a great experience as you care about your characters and the relationships that they have. However, one round of each can take up at least 15 minutes.

The dilemma. What to do? I think my solution is going to be that I have to focus on the storytelling with just a little bit on the character creation side. Basically give them characters to play and let them choose their own goals but provide the rest of it.

The kicker becomes what stories do I want to tell. I might just get lazy and redo some of the really great games that I've played of Geasa.

1. The Circus - GenCon 2010
This was a great game where I could expend from the 4 characters that were played to 6 by filling out some of the memorable NPCs.

2. The Gunslinger - Dexcon 2010
Another fun game played at Dexcon with a couple people I know who hadn't played the game before. We ended up with one of the better endings to a game I had ever seen. Seriously awesome.

3. Pirates - GenCon 2010
This game devolved quickly but I figure throwing out a game where I have control of the characters this time might make it work. There was attempted mutiny, a drunk captain and a rowdy crew.

4. Steamvents - Origins 2010
This was a game played with the Slugfest crew at Origins. It wasn't an official game, it was a Jonathan is falling asleep on the couch game, but it was pretty sweet regardless.

5. Victorian Murder - Anime North 2010
Another con game that was basically a Doylian mystery wrapped up with a bunch of fistfights and faeries. I'll have to try to recreate it because again it was late and I was asleep on my feet ... or under the table.

Yay for crimping. I'm also going to be interested to see where these stories go with other people in them.